MCD has activated 308 e-charging stations across its jurisdiction, as part of its initiative to encourage electric vehicle usage. The progress, however, appears sluggish, given that authorisation for 570 stations was received over the past three years. MCD officials cite poor inter-stakeholder coordination as the primary cause for the delay.

"Delays in getting electricity connection from discoms and installation of meters at the sites have hampered the whole process. Apart from this, issues with PWD, which is objecting to installing these e-charging stations on wider roads maintained by them, are delaying the project. Tofix these issues, we had several rounds of meetings with senior officials and the lapses were communicated to them," said an MCD official.

A PWD representative responded, "MCD owns the roads and these are given to us for maintenance. They don't need any permission from PWD for doing anything on their roads, legally. They wrote to us a few months back that they own the roads."

A power discom representative indicated that electricity connections had been established for nearly 95% of MCD applications. "In remaining cases, the process was put on hold due to deficiency in documents or the requirement for augmenting the capacity of transformers or other reasons that were immediately communicated to MCD," said the official.

The e-charging stations are situated at various locations, including J Block Rajouri Garden, Nehru Place Plot No. 81-85, and Janak Cinema in Janakpuri District Centre. The installation follows the Jan 2022 ministry of power guidelines, with 10 companies collaborating with MCD for implementation.

The administration plans to establish these stations at closed dhalaos, surface parking areas (minimum 176 lots), and roadside locations. Permissions have been secured for approximately 50 non-operational dhalaos, 290 roadside spots, and 230 parking locations. The facilities include dedicated charging points for two-wheelers, with emphasis on main road installations to enhance usage accessibility.

Whilst most charging stations are concentrated in south, central, and east Delhi, the administration is now focusing on expanding infrastructure to outer areas.